Delong's, Inc.

How one manufacturing company reimagined workforce development through intentional hiring, onboarding and learning.

42.1 percent. That was our annual employee turnover rate.

Like many organizations facing workforce challenges, our first instinct was to focus on recruiting. We needed more applicants, more interviews and more hires.

At least, that's what we thought.

When I completed our annual turnover analysis, one metric in particular stood out to me. Nearly half of our employee separations, 47.2 percent to be exact, occurred within an employee's first 90 days.

That changed the conversation and the mindset on how to tackle this issue.

Instead of asking, how do we hire more people? We began asking a different question: How do we better prepare the right people to succeed?

That shift in thinking led us to rethink every stage of the employee experience. While workforce retention is influenced by many factors, the intentional changes we made have coincided with a significant improvement in our quality of hire and a reduction in annual turnover from more than 42 percent to approximately 13 percent year to date.

More importantly, we built a stronger foundation for our people.

Build Relationships before You Need Employees

Recruiting shouldn't begin when you have an opening.

It should begin long before someone ever submits an application.

We made a conscious decision to invest in relationships with technical schools, high schools, workforce development organizations and community partners throughout the year. That investment extends far beyond attending career fairs. Our leaders conduct mock interviews, host facility tours, serve on advisory boards, donate materials to educational programs, and provide internship opportunities that introduce students to both our industry and our culture.

“The strongest recruiting strategy isn't posting another job opening. It's becoming a Company people already know and trust before they begin looking for one.”

These partnerships have transformed recruiting from a transactional process into a relationship-building process.

"The strongest recruiting strategy isn't posting another job opening. It's becoming a Company people already know and trust before they begin looking for one."

By the time many candidates apply, they've already met our employees, experienced our culture, and developed a better understanding of what a career with us looks like.

Hire for Core Values. Develop the Skills.

Technical skills matter. In manufacturing, they always will.

But we've learned that technical ability alone doesn't determine whether someone becomes a successful long-term employee. We intentionally hire people whose behaviors align with our core values because skills can be developed. Character, accountability, work ethic and a willingness to learn are much more difficult to teach.

That philosophy has changed the conversations we have during the hiring process. Experience remains important, but we place equal emphasis on candidates who demonstrate behaviors that align with our values of teamwork, integrity, dependability, continuous improvement and putting others first.

"The best hire isn't always the person who knows the most today. It's the person who wants to keep learning tomorrow."

Hiring people who fit our culture has strengthened our teams and created a better foundation for long-term success.

Stop Thinking of Orientation as a checkbox.

Our biggest transformation has been reimagining onboarding.

Like many organizations, orientation once focused primarily on paperwork, policies and compliance. We realized one of our greatest opportunities to influence retention existed before employees ever reached the production floor.

That realization led us to create DeLong's University.

Today, every new employee completes an 80-hour onboarding program before fully transitioning into production. Employees receive structured instruction in safety, quality, equipment operation, blueprint reading, crane and forklift operation, company history, culture and hands-on technical training before they're expected to independently perform their jobs.

What began as an onboarding program has become the foundation of our workforce development strategy. We're continuing to expand DeLong's University through five learning pillars focused on Safety First, Building Your Stronger Tomorrow, Production Excellence, DeLong's Foundations and Leadership Development, creating a consistent learning experience that extends well beyond an employee's first few weeks.

One of the greatest surprises has been the response from our experienced employees.

We designed the program to better prepare new hires, but our tenured employees quickly recognized the benefit as well. New employees now arrive on the shop floor with a stronger understanding of our terminology, safety expectations and foundational skills. Instead of spending valuable time teaching the basics, experienced employees can focus on coaching, mentoring and developing job-specific knowledge.

"Great onboarding doesn't just improve the new hire experience. It improves the experience of every employee who works beside them."

Retention Is Built Through Intentional Systems

When people ask what made the biggest difference in improving our retention, they're often looking for a single initiative.

There wasn't one.

There were countless intentional decisions that changed how we think about the employee experience, from the relationships we build before someone applies, to how we hire, to what happens during an employee's first hours, first weeks and first months with our Company.

The greatest lesson I've learned is that retention isn't something you fix when employees decide to leave.

It's something you build.

You build it by investing in relationships before you need to hire. You build it by selecting people who align with your values. You build it by giving employees the knowledge, confidence and support they need to succeed from the moment they walk through the door.

Because retention doesn't begin at an employee's first review.

It begins long before day one.